


Figure of Speech

by sinshine



Category: Persona 5
Genre: Falling In Love, Jinbocho date, M/M, idiots to lovers
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-09-23
Updated: 2020-09-23
Packaged: 2021-03-07 17:33:22
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,708
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26611477
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/sinshine/pseuds/sinshine
Summary: “I didn’t actually bring you to help.” Ren looked over his shoulder as he rounded a corner and Ryuji caught a glimpse of his smile. “I just wanted your company.”Ryuji grinned. “Yeah?”“And I need someone muscular to carry my bags. Books are heavy.”“There it is.” Ryuji sighed.
Relationships: Amamiya Ren/Sakamoto Ryuji, Kurusu Akira/Sakamoto Ryuji
Comments: 15
Kudos: 196





	Figure of Speech

**Author's Note:**

> Written for a zine at the beginning of the year. I usually use 'Akira' for the protag, but Ren is the one who says Ryu-Ryu lol

Ryuji regarded the exterior of the bookstore with a dubious expression. It was the same way he looked at Makoto whenever she explained that algebra would actually be useful later in life. Ren, a few paces ahead, stopped when he reached the threshold of the store to wait for him.

“It’s not going to bite,” Ren said, his mouth curving into a wry smile as he pulled the glass door open. His joke had the intended effect and Ryuji huffed, following him inside.

This shop, like every other shop in Jinbocho, was overflowing with books. There was a modest selection of new arrivals in the front display, but everything that was shelved beyond it had arrived there secondhand. The stern-faced shopkeeper sat behind the check-out desk and she looked up as the boys came in. She nodded to Ren, scowled at Ryuji’s hair, and then went back to the crossword in her newspaper. A shelf of historical texts caught Ren’s eye and he crouched to examine a row of thick books with gilded spines. Ryuji crouched next to him and spoke in a low voice.

“What’re you even looking for?”

“A birthday gift for Hifumi.”

“Oh.” Ryuji wrinkled his nose. “So, like shogi stuff.”

“Maybe.” Ren touched the soft spine of an old, leather-bound book. “I don’t really know a lot about her interests outside of shogi, but I do know that she likes old books.”

“You should’ve brought Makoto. She looks like a gal who really enjoys that old book smell.”

“You mean ‘dust?’” Ren dragged his finger along the top of one of the books and flicked a puff of lint at Ryuji.

Ryuji leaned away from the dust-ball and swatted at the air, unbalancing himself and landing heavily on his backside. He got back to his feet and met the judging eyes of the shopkeeper. She didn’t say anything, but her expression was one of neutral displeasure and Ryuji had the impression that he was being scolded.

“Sorry,” Ryuji mouthed at her. He stuffed his hands into his pockets and followed Ren deeper into the shelves, towards the back of the store. “Y’know, I’m not sure that I’m gonna be any help at this. All the books I own are manga.”

“I didn’t actually bring you to help.” Ren looked over his shoulder as he rounded a corner and Ryuji caught a glimpse of his smile. “I just wanted your company.”

Ryuji grinned. “Yeah?”

“And I need someone muscular to carry my bags. Books are heavy.”

“There it is.” Ryuji sighed, exhaling much louder than necessary. “I should’ve known you just wanted to use me for my body. Wait-- shut up, I heard it.”

“I didn’t say anything,” Ren said with a lilting voice. He stopped in a section of reference guides, looking over the ones for board games.

Ryuji pulled out a book on close-up magic from an adjacent shelf and flipped through it. “You’ve been learning strategies from Hifumi, right? Do you think it helps with the Metaverse stuff?”

“It definitely helps.”

“Then why not, y’know, recruit her?”

Ren paused mid-movement and frowned. “Huh. I guess I didn’t consider it since we’ve never done that. Well, I suppose that Morgana did kind of recruit Haru.”

“Well, do ya wanna recruit her?”

“No. That’s too...” Ren rifled around his vocabulary for the appropriate word but came up short. “It’s like that first time when Ann followed us into the Metaverse and we tried to kick her out. Do you remember what you said?”

“Sorry my knuckles touched your side boob?”

“No, the thing you said to me. About not wanting to bring someone into a place like that.” Ren gently pushed the book he had been examining back into it’s slot on the shelf. “And I guess it’s kinda nice hanging out with someone who doesn’t know about the Thieves or my whole tragic backstory thing. I like that Hifumi and I just hang out, play shogi, and talk about TV or whatever. It’s nice to have a low-stakes interaction, for a change of pace.”

“I guess that’s fair,” Ryuji said with a shrug. He couldn’t relate to not wanting to talk about the Phantom Thieves, but he could understand why Ren would want to have a conversation with someone who didn’t know about his police record. “But it might be cool to watch her and Makoto talk strategy. I wonder who’s brain would explode first.”

Ren laughed quietly. “I wonder how Makoto would react when Hifumi breaks out her special moves.”

Ryuji wasn’t entirely sure what that meant, but it did get him thinking. He followed Ren down another aisle into classic literature. “Special moves, huh? Sure would be nice to have a few of those.”

“I thought your special move was the Noodle Super Slurp Finishing Technique?”

“Yeah, but I meant like Phantom Thief stuff.” Ryuji opened another book at random, flipping through just for the feeling of paper moving against the pad of his thumb. “I mean, Makoto would make a better second in command than me.”

“No, she wouldn’t. Sure, Makoto is a talented strategist, but she doesn’t have the direction that you do.”

“Are we talkin’ about running?”

“Sort of. We’re talking about your forward momentum.”

“Ren, you know I hate metaphors.”

“I know, but hear me out.” Ren smiled when Ryuji grimaced but still motioned for him to continue. “After we stole the first treasure, you were the one who wanted to continue on with being Phantom Thieves. I honestly hadn’t even considered going back to the Metaverse. I was willing to just mark it down as another traumatic event and move on.”

“Come on. Even if I hadn’t said anything, you would’ve gone back eventually. You like that stupid coat way too much.”

“My coat _is_ amazing. But while I’ll happily use any excuse to exercise my vanity, you actually wanted to help people. And even now, you’re always pushing us to chase leads on the Phan-Site. You’re our charge commander, Ryuji. You’re incredible.”

“Dude,” Ryuji said, with feeling. He blushed and punched Ren lightly in the arm. “Quit tryin’ to get me to like metaphors.”

Ren smirked and caught Ryuji’s wrist, tugging him closer. “As your Leader, I’m only looking out for your best interests.”

  
  


  
  


“I’m surprised you didn’t want ramen,” Ren said as he slid into the booth, setting their plastic ticket number down on the table. They had passed by several ramen shops on their way to the cafe, but Ryuji hardly glanced at them.

“Ramen is a happy food. It’s for celebrations and good-times only.” Ryuji dropped into the seat across from Ren, leaning forward onto his folded arms. “Jinbocho is kind of a bummer town.”

“It’s not that bad.”

“It’s filled with nothin’ but old stuff. Old books, old antiques, old men.” Ryuji inclined his head towards a group of salarymen. “And you didn’t even find the gift you wanted.”

“Be fair to poor Jinbocho. I have no idea what I’m even looking for.”

“Maybe we’ll get lucky and find a huge treasure chest for you to lockpick.”

Ren laughed but he fell silent when a waitress appeared at their table. She set a sandwich and coffee down in front of him, along with a hamburger and cola for Ryuji. After she left, Ryuji waggled his eyebrows at Ren and kicked his shoe, nearly making him spill the cup of coffee that he had raised for inspection.

“That’s _one_ nice thing about this area. All the college girls!”

Ren set the coffee down and gave Ryuji’s shoe a returning tap before furrowing his brow thoughtfully. “Have you thought about where you might go for college?”

“That was not where I wanted this conversation to go,” Ryuji groaned before digging into his burger. Having food in his mouth had never stopped him from carrying on a conversation. “Hey, are you allowed to eat non-Leblanc curry?”

“It’s not curry, it’s a sandwich.”

“Yeah, a _curried chicken_ sandwich. Isn’t Boss, like, contractually obligated to throw you out on the street?”

“Leblanc’s curry isn’t a documented part of my probation. Besides, it’s not the same thing.” Ren paused with the sandwich partway to his mouth. “But maybe please don’t mention it to him.”

Ryuji snorted a laugh and Ren wondered how he didn’t choke. They ate in companionable silence for a few minutes until Ren brought it up again.

"I don't like school either, but it'll be different when we’re at college.”

Ryuji scowled at Ren over the top of his drink. “You know I changed the subject on purpose, right?”

“New school, new people, a clean slate. You used to be popular before Kamoshida screwed everything up, right?"

"I wouldn't say popular..."

"Yeah, mister Star-of-the-Track-Team? Weren't you bragging to Futaba about how many letters you used to get on Valentine's Day?"

Ryuji flushed. "Okay, yeah. But being popular isn’t always the same thing as being liked."

"Isn't it?"

"No." Ryuji frowned. "Weren't you popular at your old school? Y'know, before?"

"No. In either sense of the word."

"Oh! I just figured you were because-- y'know." Ryuji made a sweeping gesture to indicate all of Ren.

Ren arched an eyebrow so high that it disappeared into his bangs. "Because?"

Ryuji repeated the sweeping gesture, using even more emphasis, but Ren continued to watch him curiously. Ryuji rolled his eyes. "You should've taken me to Ichigaya if you wanted to go fishin'. Because, you're _you_. You're brave and kind and snarky, but charming enough to get away with it. You're always helping other people--"

"That part is new."

"Okay, but I'm pretty sure that being hot isn't new to you." As soon as Ryuji heard himself, his eyes widened and he blushed from his ears to his shoulders. His burger almost slipped from his hands and he set it down so that he could fiddle with the straw in his drink. "I- I mean-- Where do you wanna go to college?"

Ren very politely allowed Ryuji to change the subject. He sipped on his coffee, hiding a smile behind the raised cup. "I haven't started looking yet."

"Then what're you grillin' me for?" Ryuji grumbled, slumping back in the booth. He wasn’t as red now, but he still looked like he had a mild sunburn.

Ren resisted the urge to make a pun that connected the words ‘grilling’ and ‘hot.’ He didn’t want to make Ryuji uncomfortable-- at least, not anymore uncomfortable than he already was-- so he answered honestly. "I thought it could be fun if we went to the same university."

Ryuji was quiet for a long moment. Ren gripped the coffee cup and was starting to wonder if he’d asked for too much, when Ryuji finally spoke. "Ren, I don’t know if I'm gonna be able to get in anywhere."

Ren relaxed a little and smiled reassuringly. "Maybe not right now, but we have a year to pull your grades up."

"We? Are you gonna be my personal tutor?" Ryuji cracked a smile, but Ren pushed his glasses up his nose and considered it.

"Is that what you want?"

“For you to tutor me?” Ryuji sensed that there was some second meaning to Ren’s question that he wasn’t grasping, especially since Ren was staring so intently at him. However, Ryuji was distracted by a yellow smudge near Ren’s mouth. “You’ve got traitor curry on your face.”

“Where?” Ren ran his thumb over his cheek and missed it.

Ryuji leaned forward and reached across the table. He touched Ren’s face, putting his thumb to the elusive stain, but he made the mistake of looking into Ren’s eyes. Ryuji was suddenly very aware of the heat in Ren’s cheeks and the awkwardness of his own gangling limbs. So, rather than doing something actually helpful, Ryuji pushed his thumb across Ren’s skin, smearing the glob of sauce into a long streak.

“Got it,” Ryuji said, laughing as Ren made an outraged sound and batted his hand away.

Ren regarded Ryuji coolly as he wet a napkin with the condensation from his drink and scrubbed it over the side of his face.

  
  


  
  


“Maybe I’m thinking too hard about this,” Ren said as they walked out of yet another bookstore.

“I can guarantee that you’re thinking too hard about this.” Ryuji eyed the sizable paper bags that Ren carried, one in each hand. “Are any of those for Hifumi?”

“Are you judging me for buying _books?_ ”

“Yes, obviously! None of those books are the reason we came out here.” Ryuji sighed loudly and tugged the heavier-looking bag out of Ren’s hand. He snatched it out of reach when Ren tried to grab it back.

“Ooh, where did Ryuji go? Who is this gentleman carrying my books?” Ren teased him.

“Didja have to get hardbacks? Shit’s heavy.”

“ _There_ you are, Ryuji!”

Ryuji kicked at Ren’s shoe, but Ren skipped ahead and dodged him. “When do you even have time to read all of these?”

“I don’t know if I will,” Ren said with a shrug. “I guess I’m just spoiling myself. When I lived with my parents, they limited the number of non-academic texts that I was allowed to have. But now I have a huge room to myself and I’ve never had this much cash before...”

Ryuji barked a laugh. “International delinquent, Amamiya Ren. Moved to big city Tokyo to start a gang and buy too many books.”

“Shut up!” Ren grinned. He hooked his hand in Ryuji’s elbow and pulled him down an alleyway. “C’mon, let’s head back to the station. I’m done searching for today.”

“Giving up, Leader? You could always get a gift card.”

“International delinquent Amamiya Ren does _not_ buy gift cards.” Ren flashed a smile over his shoulder. “He believes in taking his time to find the perfect gift.”

Ryuji grinned back at him. “And he believes in speaking in third person.”

“Sometimes it makes him feel fancy. And how about you, Ryu-Ryu? What did you do with your first big Metaverse cash haul?”

“I bought new shoes for my mom.”

They exited the alley and found themselves across the street from the station entrance. The crosswalk was green, but Ren had stopped walking so Ryuji stood next to him on the sidewalk while the crowd moved on without them. Ren smiled and it was different than the teasing, affection looks that he had been giving Ryuji all afternoon. Ryuji realized, with a nervous jolt of his heart, that Ren was  _proud_ of him.

“You’re a good son, Ryuji.”

“It’s not a big deal.”

“It is. To be honest, I’m a little envious of you.”

Ryuji snorted a laugh. “What, really?”

“You’re both the strongest and the most caring person I’ve ever met. I think I would be a lot worse off if you weren’t in my life.” Ren blushed and looked away from Ryuji, his gaze settling on the red crosswalk signal. “And you’re also the most attractive person I know, so that’s definitely a bonus.”

“Have you never looked in a mirror?” Ryuji shot back. Ren’s eyes widened in surprise and he raised his hand to hide a laugh behind it. They glanced at each other, then glanced away just as quickly, both of them grinning like idiots. Ryuji adjusted his grip on the bag, switching it to his other hand. “Ren, about what you said earlier… I think it would be cool if went to the same university.”

“Cool,” Ren agreed. He slipped his hand into Ryuji’s and threaded their fingers together.

“And I don’t mean it like a metaphor! I really need to start studying.” Ryuji squeezed Ren’s hand. He felt the back of his neck heat up again and he supposed that he would just have to get used to looking permanently sunburned. “But I also do. Mean it like a metaphor.”

Ren inclined his head close to Ryuji’s ear and whispered. “I’m going to kiss you as soon as we’re alone.”

“Cool,” Ryuji said, his voice squeaking a little. He cleared his throat. “I mean, cool.”

When the light changed, Ren was the first one off the curb. Ryuji followed the pull of their clasped hands and found himself feeling strangely, but delightfully, optimistic about the future.


End file.
